End of an Era
by ConflictingInterests
Summary: Humans learn from their mistakes but what if that mistake kills them? Humanity is under attack from forces they couldn't even begin to understand. The fate of humanity, angels, and diclonii lays in the hands of children while forces scheme from behind the scenes. The era of humanity is about to end, will a new era for humanity rise or will it be forgotten. Do they deserve to live?


Disclaimer

I don't own Evangelion or Elfen Lied. They belong to their respective companies and authors

My first story, I would appreciate any comments and criticisms. This is based on their Manga counterparts so Shinji tends to get angrier more often.

" " Talking

' ' Thoughts

Enjoy.

"He's a sad, lonely kid."

"Nobody wants anything to do with him, after all even his parents left him."

That was all people had to say about Shinji Ikari. The abandoned son of Gendo and Yui Ikari. For the most part they were correct, Shinji had no friends and his guardians made it clear to him that they didn't want to take care of him. Shinji is now 14, it has been 11 years since he was abandoned by his parents. His fortune would soon change in ways he couldn't imagine, but change can be good or bad.

* * *

A military helicopter lands on a secluded island facility. One of the vice ministers of Japan steps out to meet the general director of the Diclonius Research Institute. "Welcome sir, if you would please follow me." The director Kurama led the into the facility. "Do not go within 2 meters of her. Anyone that gets within 1.47 meters is killed instantly." Kurama continued with his warning as the two men walked down a long steel corridor. "Please leave all loose valuables that may fall with security, any pens or rings should be left. People die when someone comes around her. A few days ago one of the security guards was killed when he dropped a pen inside. Please be careful."

The two men had reached their destination. "Th.. This is?!" The minister gaped as he saw the huge metal doors blocking their way. "Isn't this too much? 24Ft tall doors 20 meters underground just to hold one girl?" "No" Kurama's replied quickly. "Once you get to know her you start to feel that this isn't nearly enough to hold her. That's why she is being moved to other facilities." The minister remained unconvinced. "This is a waste of tax money. What's in this thing?"

"She is a mutant, her DNA has significant differences compared to the human genome. Most mutants have genetic defects that cause them to die either before they are born or shortly after. However she is different, she is extremely resilient to a variety of things. But that isn't the main issue, the problem is that she was born naturally like this." There was a long pause before the minister spoke. "What do you mean by that?" "She is a new species that we call the Diclonii, she was locked up because she may be like us. Homo Sapiens killed off the neanderthals before prospering, we see no reason why she won't do the same."

By now the minister was beginning to see why the facility worked so hard to contain her. "How is she different from humans?" They could hear several loud metallic sounds as the locks to the door were removed. "There are a few minor differences in appearance, but the most important one is that she has more than 2 arms." This statement surprised the minister as he tried to picture the girl in his head. The huge doors slowly opened revealing the girl inside.

* * *

"Unbelievable, 11 years and this is all he bothered to write." Shinji said in disbelief staring at the letter he received from his father. 'All it says is "come", no apologies, not even the word please, it isn't a request but an order.' thought Shinji. He wasn't given an option, his guardian was sending him to Tokyo 3 as soon as possible. Shinji was curious, 'why does he need me now after years without a word?'. Shinji knew that his parents never cared for him and accepted it as another unfortunate aspect of his life. While it saddened him deeply, he knew that it would be pointless to try to reconnect and would likely only lead to more misery. His parents were bastards that didn't care for him when he was only 3 years old, so there's no reason for Gendo to start now. 'The letter says he's connected to some organization connected to the UN. If I refuse to go he will probably send some goons to drag me there. With these thoughts running through his head Shinji started making plans on what to do when he confronts his father.

* * *

Inside the massive chamber was an odd cage surrounding a figure in the center. The face was hidden by a metal helmet mask, the body was completely wrapped and bound by restraints and strapped to a board connected to the cage that kept her upright. "What are all those protective gears?" The minister had a look of shock as he saw the creature the facility had been built to contain. "They are part of her 'cage'. The metal cage surrounding her marks a 2 meter radius, do not go in there." The two men could hear loud banging sounds coming from the girl but the minister could not see the source. "What is this sound? It's... From the floor?" She's kicking the floor since it's not outside the 2 meter radius. The reason we need more money is to move her to a better facility. For now let's return upstairs." The two men left the chamber.

As they exited an elevator a woman called out to Kurama before promptly tripping on her own feet. The papers she held flew everywhere. "Eh... Uhm... Director Kakuzawa called a moment ago..." The woman blushed in embarrassment. "Ok. I'll call him later then." Kurama did not help her up as she collected her files. "A... Ah, then excuse me..." The woman excused herself before once again tripping on her own legs. "Who... Who was that girl. She's tripping on her own." The surprisingly comical scene helped the minister relax slightly. "She's my clumsy secretary. She was a Tokyo university graduate. But she's not used to his kind of thing, so..." Kurama's expression had not changed at all which indicated that this sort of scene was quite common.

* * *

"We're sorry, all lines are currently down." the phone repeated for the third time. 'Still nothing, the city is deserted as well. I've been waiting here for awhile but she hasn't shown up' thought Shinji as he contemplated just giving up and leaving. He took out a photo of an attractive woman in a provocative pose who was supposed to have picked him up. She had drawn an arrow pointing to her chest with a note that said 'look here'. 'Is the organization that Gendo is working for really all that important? The city is completely empty, the phones don't work, and this woman that also works him seems rather care free to be working for an organization funded and controlled by the UN.' thought Shinji. Suddenly the ground shook and Shinji could see military aircraft flying overhead. He then saw it, a giant humanoid creature several stories high with no neck and a face that reminded Shinji of a plague doctor mask. The creature had broad shoulders with three fingered hands tipped with claws and a large prominent red sphere on its chest. The creature shrugged off whatever attacks the aircraft made as if they were nothing but a gentle breeze.

Shinji quickly ran as the monster approached his position when he heard the sounds of a car engine. A blue car came to a stop barely avoiding hitting Shinji. He could see the woman from the photo in the driver seat. "Sorry to have kept you waiting." she called. Shinji scrambled to get in as the giant monster continued its gait not hindered in the least by the missiles and gun fire from the military. The woman gunned the car as soon as Shinji managed to climb in the car and Shinji soon questioned whether he was safer in her car or outside with the monster. 'She's insane! Even if we are trying to avoid the creature she is driving way too fast!' Shinji thought with a panicked look as he gripped the arm rests as hard as he could. The woman driving on the other hand looked absolutely calm. "So you're Shinji Ikari right. You're a pretty cute kid! Hard to believe your the commanders son. I'm Misato Katsuragi, call me Misato" Misato said nonchalantly as she turned to look at Shinji. "Watch out for that car!" yelled Shinji as Misato swerves to narrowly avoid hitting the parked car. "Oops, sorry. Wait... Oh crap, they're using an N2 mine, get down" she said as she covered Shinji. A second later Shinji and Misato were tossed around as the shock wave from the blast blew the car away as if it was a toy.

* * *

Two guards had the unfortunate job of transporting the caged up Diclonius. As they approached the elevator they wondered whether the elevator would hold out since she had been banging on the floor even as she was being moved. The dark atmosphere was suddenly relieved when a ringing sound was heard from one of the guards. "Sorry it's my cell phone." The guard took out the phone while the others face slowly contorted into that of fear. "Hey... There's no way that phone can work here. Do you know how deep underground we are..." A loud bang from the caged woman shocked both guards. One guard dropped his phone as it skid towards the cage. Trying to grab it before it entered the girls range, he unintentionally entered the 2 meter radius. "SHIT! Take out your hand!" The other guard yelled out. However it was too late, She had already grabbed his arm and proceeded to break it into 4 chunks. The other guard tried to help him but he fell forward into the cage.

The guards fear was overriding the pain of losing his arm, he looked up and could feel what felt like two arms surround his neck. Before he or the other guard could even blink he was decapitated, blood was flowing like a waterfall from his dead body. The remaining guard stared in horror, before the body could fall it stopped as if being held up by the belt. The guards fear skyrocketed as he saw what the bound girl was after. From out of the dead guards pocket keys could be seen being lifted by an unseen force. His training temporarily suppressed his fear as he tried to shoot at her. However it was useless, the bullets never hit and were stopped in mid air once they reached the 2 meter zone. "Stop it right now!" It was futile as the keys were lifted to the locks that bound her.

* * *

Cautiously poking their heads out making sure it was safe Shinji and Misato proceeded to flip her car back on its wheels before breaking into a store for supplies to get her car running. "Misato, do you know why Gendo called for me?" asked Shinji who sneered in disgust at the thought of him. "Not exactly, I was told to pick you up,I assumed it was because your the commanders son. By the way, why do you call him by his name, he is your father after all?" Misato said. 'Come to think about it he hasn't talked much since I picked him up' she thought as she affixed her rear view mirror with duct tape. The truth was that during the drive Shinji was too terrified of Misato's driving to speak. Shinji replied immediately. "He left me with my guardians 11 years ago when I was 3. He hasn't spoken a word since the day he dropped me off. I stopped considering him my father a long time ago, he doesn't want me so why should I care about him."

Misato was shocked, not only at what he had said it. Both his voice and face were void of emotion, not quite monotone but still very flat. It was as if he was talking about the weather. There was none of the emotions you would expect even though he was talking about his father, rather, it was like talking about a stranger. 'The commander ditched him when he was 3! No wonder the kid doesn't care.' Misato's thoughts raged as she considered his words. Thinking that it would be best not to touch the subject too much, Misato handed Shinji some pamphlets about Nerv. "Your father is the commander of Nerv, I'm the operations director. I think it would be better to ask your father why he brought you here, but I'll try to answer any questions you have." said Misato. Realizing that she was intentionally changing the subject Shinji took this opportunity to get some information out of her. "Okay Misato, why did you pick me up? What was that monster and why is it here?" asked Shinji. "We call those monsters angels, they're trying to wipe out humanity. As for me picking you up I why do you ask? Am I not good enough for you? And here I was thinking a cute boy like you would be glad to have me personally come get you" Misato said with a mischievous pout. Blushing bright red Shinji could barely respond "S-sorry, it just seems odd that you would come personally to pick me up, especially since you said that you are the operations director. After all no one wants me around, I'm just a normal kid, so why would you go out of your way for me." stammered Shinji. "Ah. We're here, welcome to the geofront, Nerv's headquarters. It's also the foundation for rebuilding the world and the fort for the human race." exclaimed Misato.

* * *

In a different part of the facility Kurama's secretary Kisaragi was chatting with the other secretaries in the secretary room. "Aren't you scared of Chief Kurama? He always seems mad and his eyes always look sharp like he's glaring at something. But you work for him without a problem!" Kisaragi was surprised at the other secretary's comments and could tell by the faces of the others that most shared this opinion. "What do you mean? The chief is really nice." The others stared at Kisaragi with disbelief at what she said. "I'm clumsy, so i'm only being a burden to him now. Someday, I'll be the best secretary in Japan... Who can be at our chief's side and help him out..." Kisaragi had a happy face at the thought. For most of her life people treated her as being a useless hindrance. The reason she worked as a secretary was her long held desire to be useful. So she worked hard all her life, studying, practicing, and stumbled every step of the way. Her difficulties fueled her desire to succeed, eventually she was accepted and graduated from Tokyo university. Now she worked hard to support the chief, unlike the others she could see that he was a nice person at heart.

* * *

"We're lost." Shinji and Misato were standing at the crossroads of another passage. Deep in the bowels of the geofront, they had become lost rapidly under Misato's directions. "That's strange. I'm sure this is the right way ..." Misato and Shinji continued to wander the halls of Nerv. "I'd really rather not wear a skirt in this place. Anyway, where has Ritsuko gone? Sorry that I'm not familiar with this place." "We passed here some time ago." As they got on an elevator many questions popped into Shinji's head, different points that didn't make sense. 'Something is wrong here. I shouldn't have come, I'll leave as soon as I can. Nobody wants me for who I am. Nobody cares about me unless they want to use me.' lost in his thoughts, Shinji did not notice as the elevator doors opened revealing a woman wearing a swimsuit and lab coat. 'Wha …?' all Shinji could think of was 'why a swimsuit?'. "uggm. Ha... Hi, Ritsuko..." Misato said with an uncomfortable face. "What did you do, Captain Katsuragi? We are short of hands and time!" "Sorry..." "So is that him?" Ritsuko then directed her calculating gaze towards Shinji. "Yeah, he's the third child according to the Marduk report."

'Marduk report... Third child? What do they mean?' more and more questions came to Shinji's mind. "I'm Shinji Ikari. Nice to meet you." Ritsuko led them through more hallways until the group reached a large dark room. The lights suddenly were brought to life revealing an immense demonic visage. The head of a giant purple robot, angled green eyes that made it seem like it was glaring made for a frightening view. The eyes combined with the prominent horn reminded Shinji of an Oni. "Not this thing again..." Shinji exclaimed with a surprised look on his face. A moment later after recovering from the shock Shinji asked. "Is this what Gendo has been working on?" Both Ritsuko and Misato wondered exactly what Shinji meant by 'again'.

"That is correct. It's been a while." Everyone's turned their heads to see Gendo Ikari standing on a platform above them. "What do you want? Can you make it quick, I want to leave as soon as possible." Shinji replied with a look of sadness and anger on his face. "Ready Unit-01." barked Gendo as he ignored Shinji's comments. "What?! We can't have Rei pilot, she's too injured. We have no pilots!" Misato had a confused look as she questioned the commanders decision. "One has just been delivered." replied Ritsuko coldly. "Are you serious?! It took Rei 7 months to sync, there's no way a boy who just arrived Today can! It's impossible! " Misato's confusion had quickly changed to disbelief at the order. Ritsuko countered by saying "He only needs to sit in it. Captain, the main priority currently is to halt and repel the angel. In order to do so we need someone in the unit. Who it is does not matter so long as they have a chance at synchronizing with Unit-01. Or do you have any alternative options you would like to share?!" "Fine, your right. Shinji, you're our only hope." Misato had no choice but to relent.

"Hold it." Shinji's words immediately grabbed the attention of those within earshot. "Do you really think I'll get into that thing? Like Misato said, it's impossible for me to fight that monster. Even if I did manage to get the Evangelion working I would have no chance at beating it. The fight would be equivalent to sending someone with broken legs to fight a samurai. I despise you Gendo, what makes you think I would fight for you?!" Shinji's voice had steadily risen in tone from normal conversation level to nearly shouting. The hatred he held for his father became quite clear to those watching, Misato could see his hands shaking in rage. Normally Shinji was a depressed and somewhat apathetic kid, however the presence of his father and the sheer gall of his reason for calling him made Shinji angry beyond belief.

"Shinji, we have no time" "Get into the Eva." Both Ritsuko and Misato tried to urge Shinji to comply and pilot for them. "Absolutely not! This is ridiculous" Shinji however, didn't budge at their attempts. "If you don't do as I say all of humanity will perish. The very existence of the human race depends on whether or not the angel is destroyed" Gendo coldly stated the gruesome facts for everyone to hear. "Shinji... Why did you come here? Don't run away, from your father, and above all from yourself." Misato pleaded, knowing time was of the essence.

"I came here because Gendo ordered me to. The letter only had the word 'come' and his name saying it came from the commander of Nerv. I didn't exactly have great options. Nerv is sanctioned by the UN, if I refused he probably would have used force to bring me here. Are you people really a UN funded organization? From what I've seen it's obvious that he planned all this to begin with!" Shinji angrily declared.

"What do you mean by the commander planning this? We don't have much time!" Misato was worried, the angel continued to smash its way closer to the geofront.

"First of all, you called me the third child, where are the others? I assume one of them is the injured girl Rei you mentioned, but what about the second child? Why isn't he or she here? You people obviously knew that the angel would attack this location, why else would you build your main base here and make a city designed to deal with the attacks! You also knew when the attack would happen, otherwise you wouldn't have called me here now! Its clear that you had time and resources to prepare, but you either wasted it or intentionally planned things like this. It took 7 months for the one pilot to synchronize right? If so, you must have known the identities of the second and first child for awhile. So why was I called now. You had ample time to find me. Is this some sick joke to you? It must be, I get picked up by a woman who was late and easily got lost in her own base only to be found by some scientist in a swimsuit?! Why are children piloting giant war machines in the first place? Now I being ordered to fight a giant monster by this bastard." Shinji points to Gendo, his entire body shaking due to his rage. "What made you think I would just happily follow your orders to basically commit suicide!? Why would I get in the monster that killed Yui 11 years ago!?"

* * *

Two guards waited at the doors of an elevator. They were waiting for the two guards who were bringing the caged Diclonius to arrive and take her to the next checkpoint. As the doors opened they were greeted by a gruesome sight. The inside of the elevator was covered in blood, they could see the bodies of the two guards, both had been beheaded. The cages that was supposed to hold the girl was a mangled mess. Hardened steel bars were twisted and torn apart as if they were twigs. And the most horrifying thing of all was standing in the center of the elevator. Completely naked save for the helmet, she didn't have a drop of blood on her. Her left hand was holding the severed head of one of the guards. She turned her head, and before the guards could react they were torn into pieces.

* * *

Shinji's rant had shocked everyone. Misato and Ritsuko were rendered speechless while the workers began whispering as they realized that Shinji was correct. Many soon began questioning why he wasn't notified earlier. 'He remembers the contact experiment!' Gendo was silently cursing at the third child's outburst, he needed him to pilot or else the scenario would be ruined. "Fuyutsuki, Wake up Rei" Gendo knew his trump card would get the third to pilot. "Is she available?" replied Fuyutsuki on a video screen. "She is still alive." Gendo's voice was ice cold, some technicians shivered at the cruel suggestion. "Re-calibrate Unit-01 for Rei" Ritsuko's order made all the technicians stop whispering and work on preparing the Evangelion.

Shinji see's two doctors roll someone in on a stretcher. As they stopped nearby Shinji could see the girl laying down. His anger momentarily disappeared. He was stunned by her appearance, pale blue hair, crimson red eyes, and pale skin. Something in the back of his mind, buried under years of depression slowly started coming back at the sight of the girl. Something about her eyes seemed familiar to him. He couldn't deny that she was beautiful. However the bandages and blood stains she was covered in reignited his anger which reached levels it had never before. "Rei, the third child is useless, you will pilot Unit-01"

Shinji could hardly believe what he was seeing. "Yes, sir." Rei replied with a weak, pained voice before struggling to get up. Shinji was torn, every painful groan and tear Rei made as she struggled was like a knife stabbing at his mind. 'He's using her to guilt trip me into piloting, but if I don't she'll be forced to even though she can't even sit up...' Shinji's thoughts were interrupted as the base shook. The angel designated as Sachiel had found the base and proceeded to try to blast it's way through. Shinji looked up as lights and metal beams fell. Rushing towards Rei, he barely managed to catch her as she fell from the stretcher. "Hang in there!" Shinji desperately holding her so as to avoid further injuries. 'How can someone in her condition pilot that monster? I can't believe it...' Shinji was dumbstruck by their cruelty.

"If you're not going to pilot the Eva, you'll just be in the way. Do you see? Shinji..." Misato had approached and continued as Shinji held Rei. "You knew from the beginning that you weren't brought here to celebrate some joyous reunion with your father, you made it clear you hate him. But, if you don't pilot, that injured child there is going to have to! Don't you have any shame!" Misato's face was filled with disappointment. "Either pilot or get out of here!" while Misato looked disappointed, Gendo's expression was that of scorn.

"Shame …! You have no right to say that! You're sending innocent children to their death! She can barely move yet you would still have her fight even though she has no chance of surviving? Guilt tripping me into piloting... Do you have any shame?!" Shinji glared at Misato, seething with fury. All the workers who heard him stopped, overcome with shame. Misato was once again speechless, she had no way of countering his remarks. "I'll do it... If it means she won't be put through more pain, I'll pilot that thing..." Shinji had calmed down a bit and reluctantly agreed. He knew that something was going on behind the scenes but he couldn't let them send out the injured girl. "Shinji..." Misato let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Don't be mistaken, I still hate you all, especially you Gendo. But, if I don't help her nobody will. I'd be just as bad as you for abandoning her, you monsters..."

Misato flinched at his last biting remark while Ritsuko simply grimaced. "Now... come this way. I'll give you a simple lecture on the operating systems." Ritsuko led Shinji away to prepare him for the Eva. Shinji looked back and glared at his father, needless to say, Gendo was lucky looks can't kill. "Put these clips on, they allow you to synchronize with the Eva." Shinji was placed inside the entry plug. His hands gripped the controls tightly until his knuckles were white. Shinji's anger hadn't subsided yet as he sat in the plug. "Insert the entry plug" Technicians rushed to carry out Ritsuko's orders. "Commence LCL injection into entry plug." Shinji began to panic as the entry plug was being filled with an odd red-orange fluid that smelled of blood. "Wha... Wu-What's going on?!" Shinji tried to hold his breath as the plug was filled. "Don't worry. Once your lungs are saturated with the LCL. You'll be able to undergo direct oxygen exchange! You'll get used to it soon." Ritsuko tried to get Shinji to calm down but to no avail.

"Fuah, ggahuh... I feel sick" The fluid not only looked like blood, but tasted and smelled like it as well. 'At this rate, I'll be dead before I even fight the angel! I feel like vomiting... this stuff is disgusting.' Shinji reminded himself that vomiting would only make things worse. "Stand it! You are a boy, aren't you?!" the sound of Misato's voice jarred him out of his thoughts. "You are free to mock me when your completely submerged and breathing this nasty stuff. Until then..." Being inserted in the Eva had dissipated Shinji's anger and replaced it with panic and growing fear. The gravity of his situation began to sink in, he was sitting inside a giant war machine and was being sent to fight a giant monster that would probably kill him. 'How did things turn out like this... Nobody wants me, I'm only a tool to them. Why does life hate me so much?' panic and fear allowed Shinji's depression to resurface and slowly consume his thoughts.

* * *

"We have named her Lucy. Minister, please take a look at these. They're CT scans of her brain." Kurama showed the director 6 scans of her brain from different aspects. The scans look normal except one very obvious difference. "What's this ball here?" One scan showed a large distinct ball in the brain. "That scan is of her cerebellum. That ball is the Pineal gland, it is said that it controls the sixth sense but humans lost it when they received knowledge. In a normal human the pineal gland is about 5 – 8 millimeters, however her's is about the size of an egg." The minister was slowly dreading coming to the facility. "If we keep her locked up we can study and prove her abilities scientifically. She will end her life here as a valuable research subject and the new species will go extinct." A question came to the minister's mind, one that's answer filled him with dread. "Then if... She escapes this facility?" Kurama's reply was brief and blunt. "Then we might be the one who will be extinct."

Suddenly alarms rang, Kurama rushed to a console. "What's this sound?!" a man at a computer monitoring video feed answered. "The alarm rang in a console room?! We can't contact them!" the image on screen made their blood freeze. "Lucy... How can... This be?" Kurama's face was filled with confusion and terror. In another section of the facility Kisaragi was walking down a corridor wondering why alarms were sounding. After turning a corner she came across a strange sight. A naked girl with a metal helmet with blood splattered on her body. "What... What happened to your face? Are you okay?!" She then noticed the puddles of blood on the ground along with some of the dismembered remains of one of the guards.

* * *

Outside of his mind workers rushed to start the Evangelion. "Main power connected! All circuits fully functional! Initiating power up sequence! A-10 neural synapses operating withing normal limits! First contact all clear! Opening reciprocal circuits! Connect the mutual lines. Synchronization rate is... 41.3%! All values of the harmonics are normal. Everything is under control." Everyone at the command bridge breathed a sigh of relief. Shinji on the other hand became even more nervous. Something felt strange to him, he couldn't describe it. The feeling was faint but it made him uncomfortable. He thought it probably had something to do with the Eva but it still nagged him in the back of his mind. "Evangelion Unit-01 prepare to launch!"

Misato's shout brought Shinji back to earth as the Evangelion was moved into position. "All checks have been cleared. It's ready for launching." Ritsuko quickly looked over a console making sure Unit-01 was ready. "Commander Ikari! Do we proceed?" Misato checked one last time for the final green light. "Of course if we fail t defeat the angels, humanity has no future." Gendo replied with his gloved hands meshed together in front of his face so as to block his mouth from view. Many bridge members had never seen the commander outside of his trade marked pose and apparently not even his son and an angel attacking would change that. "Launch!" Shinji then grimaced as he and the eva were rapidly shot to the surface and made a sudden stop. Shinji faced the angel in front of him, the angel had changed slightly since he last saw it. The plague doctor like mask had shifted place while another mask had appeared. The angel had yet to make a move to attack. Shinji tried and failed to relax as he stared at the angel. Misato's voice broke him out of the trance. "Evangelion Unit-01 lift off!"

* * *

"Chief! I'm scared! Dad! Mom!" "Kisaragi!" Kurama had rushed to gather forces to capture the escaped Lucy. However, when they had finally found Lucy they were met with a difficult situation. Lucy stood before a hatch that led directly outside the facility. She held Kisaragi captive and was using her as a human shield. "Chief! She's ordering us to open the hatch or she'll kill Kisaragi!" Lucy was backed into a corridor, the hatch was the only thing separating her from escaping and she was surrounded by Kurama and the guards. Kurama needed to make a decision that would determine the life of Kisaragi and possibly the human race. Kisaragi continued to cry, scared for her life. "I need to save Kisaragi. Can't you aim at Lucy?" Kurama frantically thought of the different options and their consequences. "It's hard... Kisaragi is blocking the way. Even if we manage to get a shot at her it will only graze her." 'If we don't take her out, then we don't know how many others will die. But...' The decision continued to plague his conscious, should he save Kisaragi or capture Lucy?

Kisaragi's sad crying face affected all the guards. Kill the monster or save the girl? They knew they weren't heroes, it was either one or the other. Rescue the princess or slay the dragon. Kurama grimaced as he came to his decision. "Kisaragi..." "Chief!" "We need to sacrifice you." Kurama's voice was cold, all the guards had reluctant grimaces. They knew they couldn't allow Lucy to escape but that didn't make them feel any better about having to sacrifice an innocent woman's life. Katsuragi could tell that Kurama was holding back his emotions. Her expression changed into a depressed frown. "... Then... I'll... Be helping you?" Kisaragi's mind was a chaotic mess of emotions. 'How did I get into this situation? I just wanted to be useful, to be helpful for someone.' Kisaragi was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mustering all the will she had she managed a half smile. Her blush intensified and her mouth contorted itself into a smile. The rest of her face however couldn't hide the sadness in her heart. "Yeah. We won't let you death be wasted." Kurama tried to console her in the face of death. "You promised. Really." Kisaragi could see death hovering above her. 'At least my death will help the chief.' That was Kisaragi's last thought as Lucy abruptly popped her head off of her shoulders.

"Shoot!" Kurama lost all his composure at the sight of Kisaragi's death. The guards immediately opened fire with their pistols. Lucy simply held Kisaragi's body up as a shield as the guards shot at her. Being a secretary Kisaragi always had several writing instruments on her person to take notes at a moment's notice. The 4 pens levitated in front of Lucy before flying off like bullets in the guards direction. One guard was killed instantly as a pen pierced his skull and flew out the back. The guard to his direct right tried to rush her with a baton. "You dumb ass! Come back!" He quickly stopped and turned around at the sound of Kurama's warning. "But!" That was all he could say before his heart was ripped out. The front side of his chest was unharmed while his heart had popped out from his back. His heart was then instantly crushed, leaving a small explosion of blood for the rest of the guard to see. Without his heart his body immediately collapsed dead. Before anyone could react the body's head practically exploded in a shower of blood as it was crushed. The rest of the body followed leaving only a few limbs intact. The guards were paralyzed in terror as they watched their coworker slaughtered, They couldn't even see what was causing it, it was if he was massacred by some invisible force. "Don't be scared! We almost got her! She's almost like prey backed into a corner!" Lucy stepped back and pushed the hatch. To Kurama's surprise and dismay the door simply opened. "ahahahaha!" Lucy continued to laugh while Kurama's expression was stuck due to shock and disbelief. "Her death was useless."

* * *

The restraints keeping the Evangelion balanced were released, Shinji was sweating bullets as he tried to keep the multi billion dollar war machine balanced. "Shinji!" "yes?!" The fear and nervousness was clearly evident in his response. "Just try walking!" Shinji could sense the urgency in her voice, for once however he couldn't blame her, after all he was right in front of a creature hell bent on annihilating the human race. "U-uh but how do I walk?" Ritsuko swiftly responded by saying "Just concentrate! Focus your thoughts on the idea of walking.! "All you have to do is think!" Focusing on walking, Shinji made a shaky first step. The Evangelion began to walk forward. As Shinji tried to make it stop a question crossed his mind. 'If this thing is controlled by thoughts why are they making children pilot!' Things just didn't make sense. Despite Shinji's efforts to control the Evangelion it refused to halt and eventually smashed into a building. "Shinji, come on! Hurry up, stand up as soon as possible!"

* * *

Lucy walked away as the guards chased after. Lucy simply turned around and reduced the guards into a pile of miscellaneous body parts. Exiting the facility she walked over to a nearby cliff facing the sea. "Get a sniper now!" Kurama wasn't going to let Lucy free. "She's trying to escape by sea! Finish her in one shot, she won't allow another!" Kurama and the sniper were stationed on one of the facilities balconies. "Don't worry, this is a 50 caliber anti tank rifle. Even she won't be able to stop the shot with her 'hands' " The sniper was confidant, no living creature could survive a hit from and anti tank rifle. Through the scope he could see the naked Lucy facing away from them and facing the cliff. "Aim for the back of the head! She's completely unprotected there!" The sniper took aim, he could see her hair from the one area of her head not covered by the helmet. There was no strong wind so he pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for them Lucy turned her head just as he fired. "Shit this is bad!" A loud clang was hear as the bullet collided with the side of her restraining helmet. The force of the impact forcible cracks the helmet's locks apart. "Did you miss?" "No sir, she was hit!" Kurama's mind was in a frenzy, if she survived she would be free, if she dies then humanity is safe. Hit the helmet broken Lucy's long pink hair was set free. Lucy's teeth were locked in a grimace at the sudden shot, the side of her head was bleeding. "No! She didn't die!" Lucy's body fell into the ocean. "Call security and have them search for her!" Kurama knew it would be futile, she probably already escaped. "Kurama. I think I took this situation too easily." The minister was shocked by the events and feared for the future. 'First angels and now another monster is loose..." Kurama walked past him too the doorway where she had escaped. Looking down and Kisaragi's bloody head he apologized at his inability to stop her and swore he would have revenge. Lucy had escaped and was already out of their reach, however the blow to her head was taking it's toll and she knew that she didn't have long before losing conscious. Her last thought before the darkness overtook her was simple 'He's in Tokyo 3'.

* * *

While Shinji could hear her orders he was unable to follow through. Slightly dazed from the fall Shinji was unable to react as the angel grabbed him by the head. The angels other arm then gripped the Eva's left arm and proceeded to crush it. "AAAAAGH!" Pain unlike anything he felt before shot up his arm, to him it felt like it was his arm that was broken rather than the Eva's. "Shinji, keep your head, It isn't your arm." Shinji was in too much pain to respond. Whether the damage was real or not didn't matter, either way the pain was very real to him. Misato and the rest of the command staff watched as a glowing spear like protrusion on the angel's forearm began to pull back. From Shinji's point of view all he could see was the angel, it's hand in particular started to glow brightly. Shinji knew something bad was going to happen but was still wracked with pain and unable to escape. Realizing what the angel was going to do, Misato tried to alert Shinji but the warning was both too late and somewhat pointless. The glowing lance like protrusion then spears Unit-01 through it's eye. "YAAAARGH" inside the plug Shinji could only clutch his right eye, the pain overwhelming everything else. "The cranial area is going into paralysis!" Ritsuko announced with a look of shock and dismay. The angel once again spears Unit-01 launching it back into a building. The Eva gushed blood from the hole in it's skull. "Degree of cranial damage unknown!" The bridge operators rushed to disconnect Shinji from the Eva but were unable to as the Eva rejected their commands. Shinji's status was unknown. "Unit-01 is completely silent!" All attempts to eject the plug failed as well as contact was lost with the Eva. The pain of the attacks and being launched into the building had knocked Shinji unconscious.

* * *

Lucy woke up from her long sea journey off the shore of a beach. Dragging herself up she walked onto shore. It was late at night so the beach was deserted. She walked a short distance until she came upon the outskirts of a large shopping district. Finding a costume shop she used her 'hands' to break the lock and walked in. She needed a disguise, something to cover up her horns. Finding a high school girls uniform she put it on and searched deeper for what she needed. Finding it she attached the cat tail to her skirt. She may get odd looks but at least she could pass her horns as part of her costume.

* * *

Walking outside she went further into town, finding a map she smiled. She was only a few kilometres from Tokyo-3. Walking out of town with unsteady steps she knew what she had to do. She may have been exhausted but nothing was going to stop her from reach her goal. Smiling brightly, her face was filled with joy at the thought of meeting him, "Shinji..."

Shinji slowly opened his eyes only to see he was completely surrounded by darkness. "I see... I guess I died... Death isn't a big deal after all..." Shinji suddenly saw a bright ball of light that slowly got bigger until it was about his size. 'What's that?' Shinji could only wonder what would happen next. Suddenly he heard a woman's voice call out. "Hello Shinji."

That's it for the first chapter. Again I would appreciate any reviews or criticisms. I'm not that good at writing.I haven't read or seen Evangelion in a while so things may be different. Remember this is based on the manga so expect slightly different starting personalities. Shinji will get angry and Lucy is the only one with pink hair, seriously I still don't get why they changed the hair in the anime. I'm pretty busy so if I continue the story expect sporadic updates, I'll also probably rewrite it later after I get some feedback. If you have an idea feel free to tell me, I may incorporate them. If you like the story tell me what you liked about it, if you hated it tell me why. Don't be afraid, people learn from failure. Anyway read, review, recommend.


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